Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah were on target as Liverpool edged Premier League strugglers Nottingham Forest 3-2 in a riveting clash at Anfield on Saturday to climb to seventh in the table.
All the goals came in an action-packed second half, with Jota heading in the opener from a corner in the 47th minute, before Forest drew level when former Liverpool fullback Neco Williams ran on to Morgan Gibbs-White's pass to send a deflected shot past Alisson.
Jota restored Liverpool's lead with a sharp finish on the turn in the 55th minute but Liverpool were pegged back again when Virgil Van Dijk's clearing header fell to an unmarked Gibbs-White.
Both Forest goals came from long throw-ins and Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp was pleased with the result but frustrated by his side's shaky defensive performance against a team who have the second-worst attacking record in the league.
"It was a difficult game against a low block," Klopp said. "All this chaos around the throw-ins you have to try to avoid.
"Too many situations, we couldn't clear properly but apart from that I am really pleased."
Liverpool sealed the win three minutes after Forest's second when Trent Alexander-Arnold picked out Salah with a low free kick and the Egyptian striker held off Remo Freuler before side-footing past Keylor Navas.
Forest twice came agonisingly close to snatching a draw when Taiwo Awoniyi sent an acrobatic effort over the bar and substitute Brennan Johnson hit the crossbar with a delicate chip, but Liverpool clung on to take all three points.
Liverpool went into the match in high spirits after crushing Leeds United 6-1 earlier in the week but struggled to break down a packed Forest defence in the opening period.
"I think it was really important to win and follow up the last win," said Jota, who now has four goals in two games after failing to score in his previous 32 appearances for the club.
"We need to improve defensively but offensively we were almost perfect."
Steve Cooper set up Forest with a flat back five, looking to contain Liverpool, and the strategy worked in the first half, though the visitors rode their luck at times.
Alexander-Arnold carved out Liverpool's first clear chance in the 26th minute when he found Van Dijk with a free kick that the Dutchman headed goalwards only to be denied by a sharp save from Navas.
The Liverpool fullback has come in for criticism for his defensive performances this season and Klopp's solution has been to move him into midfield when Liverpool are on the ball, a role Alexander-Arnold seems to be relishing.
He found Cody Gakpo from a corner on the half-hour mark but the forward's first-time effort was cleared off the line by Williams and he also picked out Jota with a free kick that the striker headed into the side netting as the scores stayed level at halftime.
It was Alexander-Arnold's corner that led to Liverpool's opener soon after the restart, setting them on their way to their fourth unbeaten game in a row as Klopp's men moved on to 50 points, one behind sixth-placed Aston Villa.
Defeat saw Forest drop to second-bottom in the table.
Everton earn draw at Palace but slip into bottom three
Everton ended Crystal Palace's winning run under returning coach Roy Hodgson when they held out for a 0-0 Premier League draw at Selhurst Park on Saturday but the Merseyside club dropped into the relegation zone.
Clear-cut chances were few and far between but Everton’s Alex Iwobi forced an excellent low stop from goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, while Palace’s Eberechi Eze had the ball in the back of the net but was correctly adjudged offside.
Everton finished the game with 10 men when Mason Holgate, making his first start since early November, received a second yellow card, though it appeared a harsh decision from referee John Brooks as the defender won the ball in the tackle.
Everton drop into the bottom three on goal difference behind Leicester City, who won 2-1 at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, having amassed 28 points from 32 games. Palace stay in 12th place on 37 points from the same number of matches.
"We are quite disappointed, we're in a real battle and we need more. We had the opportunity to pick up three points," Everton defender James Tarkowski told reporters.
"To grind it out with 10 men is nice but there's way more from us. We defended well, we had conceded a few goals recently so that's a plus but we need to do more and expect more from our forward players.
"We have some really talented boys but we need more from them. It has been a tough season and maybe we are losing that confidence.
"The season has not finished now so I don't look at the table, there's six games to go."
Palace had won all three games since the return of the 75-year-old Hodgson to the South London club and dominated the first half but were unable to punish a sloppy visiting side, whose poor passing left them pinned in their own half.
Everton improved after the break and fit-again striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin almost broke the deadlock when his excellent turn in the box bamboozled two defenders but his shot went narrowly wide of the post.
They have now not won in 14 away games for the first time since 1980 and must hope to pick up three points in their home fixture against Newcastle United on Thursday.
Palace might feel it was two points lost but Eze believes it shows more progression under Hodgson against a battling Everton side up for the fight.
"A difficult game, not too much in it. It was scrappy, we did as much as we could but we couldn't create the chances," Eze said.
"The way they play it's difficult to get the ball down and they don't give you much time. We worked hard and it's positive getting a point and we just want to keep building on it.
"Against 10 men you want to create and get the ball into their box but it was very difficult and they don't allow you anything."
Leicester move out of drop zone with comeback win
Leicester City came from behind to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 with goals from Kelechi Iheanacho and Timothy Castagne on Saturday to snap a 10-match run without a victory in all competitions and keep alive their Premier League survival bid.
Leicester had claimed one point from their previous nine league games and the long-awaited victory moved Dean Smith's side out of the drop zone and up to 17th with 28 points -- above Everton on goal difference. Wolves are 13th with 34 points.
Smith, who was appointed manager until the end of the season after Leicester sacked Brendan Rodgers, celebrated his first home match with a win despite the absence of playmaker James Maddison who missed the game due to illness.
"It was a hard-fought victory. I thought we created the bigger chances in the game. We started well, had a tough period and showed a lot of character in that second half," Smith told the BBC.
Leicester were the better team in the opening stages but Wolves scored first against the run of play when Mario Lemina pinched the ball from an unsuspecting Youri Tielemans before finding Matheus Cunha who fired home in the 13th minute.
Leicester hit back seven minutes before halftime when Jamie Vardy was brought down in the box by goalkeeper Jose Sa and Iheanacho stepped up to calmly slot the penalty past the Portuguese keeper after sending him the wrong way.
"A lot of the goals we have given away, looking back at them, have been individual mistakes. From then up until the penalty their movement was sharper and brighter than ours," Smith added.
Patson Daka had the opportunity to give Leicester the lead on a counter-attack 10 minutes into the second half but Sa was up to the task to keep him out with a reflex save while Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's shot from the rebound went over the bar.
Leicester's sustained pressure finally paid off after 75 minutes when full back Victor Kristiansen found space down the left flank and cut the ball back for Castagne, who finished first time to give the home side the lead.
"You could see the fans were happy because we tried to play better football than before, more aggressive," Castagne said.
"That is a big one today, everyone was thinking it was going to be tough. We have a bit more confidence and know we can do it."
Leicester survived a VAR check for a handball in the box late in the game while the King Power Stadium crowd held their breath in the 88th minute when Wolves won a free kick and Ruben Neves stood over the ball.
But goalkeeper Daniel Iversen dived well to deny the midfielder's shot that was heading for the top corner.
Brentford bring Villa's winning run to an end
Brentford brought Aston Villa's run of five straight wins in the Premier League to an end in west London on Saturday, with the visitors securing a late 1-1 draw through Douglas Luiz after Ivan Toney had scored his 20th goal of the season for the Bees.
The result leaves Villa in sixth place in the league on 51 points, one ahead of Liverpool who have a game in hand, but still battling to secure themselves European competition next season.
"Today we didn't play good but it's a very good point," Aston Villa boss Unai Emery told reporters, noting that Brentford have lost only twice at home all season.
Despite the draw, Villa's late equaliser means they have scored in all 19 of their league matches so far under Emery, the longest Premier League scoring streak by any club under a new manager.
After an action-packed but goalless first half, Toney broke the deadlock in the 65th minute, striking a cross from Bryan Mbeumo straight between the legs of Villa's substitute keeper Robin Olsen to bag his 20th goal in all competitions this season.
Villa appeared to be slipping towards defeat until Emiliano Buendia rushed forward in the 87th minute and cut the ball back for Brazilian midfielder Luiz to fire in from close range.
The Bees fans then thought their side had struck a late winner in the 90th minute when second-half substitute Youane Wissa raced down the middle and lashed the ball past Olsen, only for his strike to be ruled out for offside.
Villa's Ollie Watkins, having scored 11 times in his previous 12 league appearances, had a quiet game against his former club until deep into stoppage time when he very nearly scored, just failing to bring a cross from Buendia under control.
The visitors' first-choice keeper Emiliano Martinez, who had a busy first half including an early point-blank save from Bryan Mbeumo and a crucial block on a Kevin Schade pass towards the feet of Toney, was substituted at halftime due to a stomach bug.
Emery told reporters his World Cup-winning stopper had felt too unwell to continue and was a doubt for their next fixture on Tuesday at home against Fulham.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank was philosophical after his side let the win slip through their fingers in the closing minutes, leaving them in 10th place in the league on 44 points.
"They have been very unlucky not to have won. It was close to a perfect performance for me. When you're only leading 1-0 in football it can happen -- you never know," he said.
